T20 Men’s cricket World Cup 2022: who is in NationalWorld’s dream squad ahead of T20 Australian World Cup?

The T20 World Cup is back once again just a year after the previous tournament took place in the United Arab Emirates with Australia winning their first ever title. Aaron Finch’s side beat New Zealand in the final to win their first T20 World Cup and are now hosting the 2022 competition which has already seen exciting and shocking results.

Namibia beat Sri Lanka in their opening group stage fixture while Scotland went on to beat West Indies by 42 runs in their first group stage match. All eight teams in the initial group set-up will be hopeful of reaching the Super12 tournament next week where they will face the world’s best T20 cricketers in Mohammad Rizwan, Josh Hazlewood and Mohammad Nabi.

Here is NationalWorld’s top picks for who would make up a dream XI squad at the T20 World Cup…

Openers: Babar Azam (C) and Mohammad Rizwan

There aren’t any other options when it comes to our two openers. They are Pakistan’s key to success and very often their batting means no one else needs to get involved. Rizwan has a T20 average of 52.34 while Azam’s is 43.66 and the Pakistani captain is the first ever from his country to have hit two T20 centuries.

Middle-orders: Virat Kohli, Jos Buttler (wk), Tim David

Former Indian captain, Virat Kohli is another with a T20 average of over 50. While he may not be in favour to captain his side anymore, India cannot win the tournament without their star batter. The middle-order wouldn’t be England captain Jos Buttler’s preferred position anymore, but his constant match-winning performances are vital and he has produced them at whichever number he bats.

The newly arrived Australian Tim David will certainly be one to watch at the T20 World Cup. The past couple of years have been the scene of the former Singaporean’s breakout into the world of international cricket and he is now in demand from T20 franchises across the world, such as Southern Brave, Royal Challengers of Bangalore and Hobart Hurricanes.

All-rounders: Moeen Ali, Hardik Pandya, Shakib Al Hasan

Moeen Ali recently led England to their historic 4-3 win over Pakistan and, much like international teammate Buttler, is versatile in his ability to bat at any point in the order. He has won matches both with the bat and ball and his composure is crucial for any side hopeful of winning the trophy.

India’s Hardik Pandya has had a resurgence of form since captaining the Gujarat Titans to victory in their inaugural year in the IPL earlier this year. Following his success in the IPL, he returned to the India squad and was their Player of the Series against England during the summer.

Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan makes up the third all-rounder in the dream XI and is currently the second ranked all-rounder according to the ICC. Not only does he have a batting strike-rate of 122.43 but he also has a bowling average of 20.89 with an economy of 6.73.

Bowlers: Josh Hazlewood, Rashid Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi

Currently the ICC T20 top ranked bowler, Josh Hazlewood makes up one of the specialist bowlers in our dream XI. He has an average of 20.6 and is by, as reflected by his ranking, one of the best pacers on the block. Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan is just behind Australian Hazlewood in the rankings and is by far his country’s star player. Only 24-years-old, he has firmly established himself as a must-have spinner in T20 franchises such as Gujarat Titans, Trent Rockets and the Adelaide strikers.

Finally, Pakistan’s shining quick, Shaheen Shah Afridi. Fears have been restored after it was thought he would still be injured for this tournament but he has since joined his squad and will hopefully be back to hitting consistent speeds of 90mph.

Honourable mentions:

11 is just not enough to explore the excessive talent that will be seen at the T20 World Cup. Ireland’s Paul Stirling is in the top five highest T20 run-scorers and will be indispensable to his team getting out of the group stage. Meanwhile Scotland’s Mark Watt has already excelled taking three wickets for just 12 runs against the West Indies in his opening match.

England’s series against Pakistan showcased the extraordinary talent of Harry Brook and the Yorkshire 23-year-old is firmly placed as a future superstar of white-ball cricket. And finally, Brook’s international teammate Chris Jordan must be on the ‘reserves’ for his unbelievable death bowling skills. The West Indian-born quick is fundamental to England’s success at the back end of an innings and even when the wickets don’t fall, Jordan ensures that the runs do not rise.